Great numbers of rod holders have been disclosed in the past, but no one of them has had such universal functional capability. Commonly they were needed in pairs, or they were needed in different sizes for different size rods, or they were capable of being used only in the vertical, or in the horizontal, but not in both, or they could be used only with a hard rod or a soft rod, but not both, or they required a flat surface on the substrate to which they were attached, or they required that the rod be supported on the floor, or they were subject to the rod being jarred loose by vibration or other activity on the part of the substrate.